Cyclophosphamide Induced Histological Changes in Testis of Swiss Albino Mice

Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes for morbidity and mortality. The most often used anticancer drug is Cyclophosphamide, the continuous usage of which may affect the fertility outcome in young boys. Henceforth an attempt is made in this experimental animal study design on swiss albino mice to look into the histological changes in the testis tissue post exposure to the Cyclophosphamide. Subjects & Methods: Healthy male Swiss albino adult mice (n=43), which were 6 to 8 weeks old, with average weight of 32±5 g were obtained from Central Animal Research Facility, Manipal were used for the study. They were maintained in well ventilated polypropylene cages containing paddy husk. The adult male mice were divided into two groups, control (n=7) and test (n=36). In the test group, the mice were injected with Cyclophosphamide at variable doses as per body weight. From each group certain no. of mice was sacrificed on different days. A parallel control group was kept for each of the treatment intervals. Similarly, the 12 prepubertal male mice, control (n=3) and test (n=9) which were of 2 weeks old with average weight of 8±2 g were also considered. The testicular tissue was then extracted and used in histological study. Results: A significant damage was noticed in the spermatogenic cells of the testicular epithelium. However Leydig cells were least affected. Conclusion: The experimental design studied here throws light on dose and time dependent toxic effect of one of the most commonly used anticancer drug- cyclophosphamide. Keywords: Cyclophosphamide, Testis histology, Swiss Albino mice.